Lava Bed Search Updates

Wednesday 3 October, 2013

8:45 pm

The search for Kristopher Zitzewitz, 31, of Portland, OR will continue tomorrow morning utilizing air resources to search the Big Lava Beds area approximately 10 miles north of Cook, WA in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Search efforts by 7 ground searchers, family members, and a helicopter from the King County Sheriff’s Office finished this evening with no further results. The search is based at Goose Lake Campground. “Air support will be utilized in the morning to perform an extensive low level aerial search” said Undersheriff Dave Cox. “If the air search tomorrow does not provide results, we will be manning one more major search effort Saturday morning, 5 October, in an attempt to locate Kristopher. We will be making a formal request for search resources to the Washington Department of Emergency Management some time tomorrow for the Saturday search effort if needed”.

Search operations concluded this evening for Alejandra Wilson, 23, who was reportedly hiking north on the Pacific Crest Trail and was overdue in contacting her father. At 1151 am on Monday, 30 September, Dane Wilson reported his daughter as overdue and had last talked with her on Friday at 3:00pm as she was leaving Troutlake for White Pass on the PCT. “An extensive aerial search of the PCT within Skamania County today by the US Coast Guard Air Station Astoria provided no evidence that Ms Wilson is still in Skamania County at this time” said Undersheriff Dave Cox. “I was onboard the aircraft today, and the aircrew did an absolutely outstanding job of covering all of the areas of the PCT within Skamania County, including areas off the trail as well. We found absolutely no trace of Ms Wilson’s presence in our County” he said.

An update will be provided after aerial search efforts conclude tomorrow evening.